


Girl Talk

by starsurfer108



Category: Tintin (Comics), Tintin - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Lighthearted, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9519065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsurfer108/pseuds/starsurfer108
Summary: Now that Tintin is settled at Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock tries to talk Tintin into getting a girlfriend.Wouldn't be in Herge's canon strictly speaking but i tried to make it as realistic as possible. Hopefully it is fun to read.





	

Nothing could make the Captain more content than allowing Tintin to share his mansion. Not only did he appreciate the company considering he found only a few people's society tolerable, but the bond between them was indescribably strong - of a type that could only be forged in life and death situations.  
  
But now that he himself was happy - he'd long been reconciled that an old sea dog like himself was better off single - he couldn't help but think that perhaps Tintin needed some encouragement in that area. And heaven forbid that allowing him a comfortable situation at Marlinspike Hall was discouraging him to look for a girl, to omit being put in daily situations where he could meet one.  
  
But tact was not one of his forte's. Yet he dearly wanted to present it in a way that would be palatable to the lad.  
  
At that moment, Tintin walked in for breakfast.  
  
"Good morning, Captain!" Tintin said in his typical enthusiastic tone. Yes, the lad had far to much energy for it to all be wasted on a retired man.  
  
"Morning, lad," the Captain replied nonchalantly, but in a welcoming tone.  
  
The problem was that he didn't know that much about Tintin, despite spending many years with him and considering him a close friend. The only way he could describe it was a bit like maintaining a respectful distance - he didn't pry into the lad's private life and in turn the lad didn't pry into his.  
  
But it did leave him a bit nowhere - how could he draw on the lad's past to encourage him to accept his suggestions? A crease appeared on his forehead as he pondered his predicament, various scenarios flashing through his mind.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
"Y-yes, lad?" the Captain spluttered, almost falling out of his chair.  
  
"You've been staring at that page of the newspaper for over five minutes with a frown on your face - is there something there you don't like?"  
  
With a shock, Haddock realised that he had been looking at the front page with the headline 'Billionaire donates half his fortune to help starving children in Africa'.  
  
"Er, not at all, laddie - truth be told, I had something on my mind."  
  
Tintin didn't respond, but the expression on his face showed that he was willing to listen.  
  
Haddock gulped. "Well, now would be a good time to say it - I'd been thinking about what one would need to do to get a girl. Because one day you could wake up and find that life has passed you by, and surely being cooped up in this mansion doesn't help - women don't grow out of the ground, you know."  
  
Tintin laughed. "True!"  
  
This seemed to be going well. "So do you know any girls, laddie?"  
  
Tintin looked surprised. "W-well, yes... how about Castafiore?"  
  
Haddock remained still like stone, his initial relief turning into horror in an instant. Er, WHAT? Not that he would stop the lad if he really was in love with someone, but this was CASTAFIORE. He'd make damn sure the lad knew what he was doing before assenting and going with the flow.  
  
Screw it, no one in their right mind would want to get with Castafiore.  
  
"Lad, I was thinking of someone more your own age," he said gently, flashing the brightest smile he could muster.  
  
Tintin looked shocked, increasing Haddock's trepidation."Y-you want to get a girlfriend that's MY age, Captain?"  
  
Instinctively, Haddock scrunched up the newspaper in his hand and angrily banged it on the table. "Not a girlfriend for ME - a girlfriend for YOU!!"  
  
"Oh!" said Tintin, smirking, the humour not being lost on him. Then his expression morphed into something unrecognisable.  
  
Whatever he was thinking, it didn't look like enthusiasm.  
  
Haddock sighed, ignoring the realisation that his best friend would happily leave him to a life of misery with that dratted Diva, constantly stepping on eggshells and broken glass.  
  
"Look, lad, I'm not one to talk about women, but you and I are different. You have a lot to give, to everyone you know. I do very well think there's a girl out there who could make you happier and whom you could make happy, and I think you deserve that regardless of whether you're content with your current life."

By this point, Tintin had his head in his hands with a forced smile. "Thank you for your concern, Captain, but all I can say is that we don't always do what we should do?" Tintin's eyes flickered towards the copious bottles of whiskey that were nearly in every room, the implication clear.  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll drop the subject," the Captain said gruffly, trying to smoothe out the crumpled paper and attempting to read the news as accurately as he could on the mangled newspaper.  
  
A tinge of regret started to be felt after his hasty declaration of never talking about it again since he was a man of his word, but then he quashed it - he'd made his position clear, and as much as he cared about Tintin, he was never one to coddle another person.  
  
It was almost interesting to him to see Tintin's almost rude response, but it didn't bother him - after all, he was prying into the lad's personal life. For whatever reason, the boy had an aversion to dating, but that was now solely Tintin's issue to deal with as he saw fit.  
  
'Ah, it seems there is some unrest in Bulgaria' Haddock thought as he actually started to read the newspaper.  
  
\--  
  
Things were back to normal that evening - their time in each other's company consisting of either easy conversation or comfortable silence.  
  
It was rather soothing sitting listening to the crackle of a roaring fireplace.  
  
A knock was heard, and Nestor entered with a tray. "Some whiskey, Sir?"  
  
"Thank you, Nestor, but I believe I will have some water instead."  
  
It took a raised eyebrow from Haddock to break Nestor out of his state of frozen shock. "R-right away, Sir."  
  
After they were alone, Tintin stood up. "I suppose that's my cue to see if Calculus can make girls grow out of the ground," he said smilingly, then grabbed his coat and headed out the front door.  
  
Haddock chuckled, and stretched out his legs, content.  



End file.
